According to the text book, Benthos is the community of organisms or creatures that are found and live deep in the ocean, or near the seabed, also known as the Benthic zone. This community lives in or near marine sedimentary environments, from Tidal pools along the beach, out to the continental shelf, and even down to the abyssal depths.
About Benthos:
Due to the fact that deep ocean water does not receive any light whatsoever, the type of vitality foundation that the “deep benthic environment” has to adapt to is organic substances that are abstracted from higher up in the water closer to the surface. This organic substance then progressively sinks down to the deep depths of the oceans. The lifeless and rotten organic substance endures the benthic food chain; even though most organisms in the “benthic zone” are scavengers or detritivores.
Food sources for Benthos
The main food sources for the benthos are algae and organic’s that result of runoff’s from land. The depth of water in combination with the temperature, salinity and the type of local substrate, all come into play when benthos is present. This can differ from coastal waters and other oceans where sun light can reach the bottom of that ocean. Benthic photosynthesizing diatoms can proliferate in the depths of oceans where light can reach. In oceans with sandy bottoms organisms and filter feeders, like sponges and bivalves, take over drastically. On the other hand deposit feeders, like polychaetes domain softer ocean bottoms. Deep ocean predators and scavengers are usually fishes, snails, sea stars, cephalopods, and crustaceans.
The following are the three different types of Benthos:
Infauna are benthos that survive buried in the sand, shells, or mud at the bottom of the ocean floor.
Epifauna benthos live on the surface of the sea floor and are always attached to rocks or they move along the bottom of the ocean floor.
Dermsals also live on the bottom of the ocean, but above the ocean floor not buried under, and also swim or crawl low to the sea floors.
Benthos can also divided by size:
o Microbenthos can be greater than100mm and includes bacteria & protests.
o Meiobenthos are between 100 and 500mm, they all include small metazoa and larger protists.
o Macrobenthos are greater than 500mm and include large metazoa and megabenthos. o Megabenthos are the biggest ones, they can be found with large crustaceans, mollusks, etc.
Macrobenthos - Macrobenthos involves the larger, more noticeable, benthic organisms that are greater than 1 mm in size. Examples are organisms such as polychaete worms, bivalves, echinoderms, sea anemones, corals, sponges, sea squirts, turbellarians and larger crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and cumaceans.
Microbenthos- include microscopic benthic organisms that are less than 0.1 mm in size. Some examples are bacteria, diatoms, ciliates, amoeba, flagellates.
Benthos are in addition divided by what they eat:
Herbivores- feed off of herbal plant material such as seed weeds, etc.
Carnivores/predators- feed off of other benthic organisms.
Detritivores- feed off of lifeless plants and animal materials.
They eat in three different types of way:
Suspension feeders- eat using appendage covered in mucus that catches particles found floating in water columns.
Filter feeders- strain particles from the water column.
Deposit feeders- ingest sediment therefore removing the nutrients of their meal.
What are "Benthos"?
Definition of "Benthos":
According to the text book, Benthos is the community of organisms or creatures that are found and live deep in the ocean, or near the seabed, also known as the Benthic zone. This community lives in or near marine sedimentary environments, from Tidal pools along the beach, out to the continental shelf, and even down to the abyssal depths.
Due to the fact that deep ocean water does not receive any light whatsoever, the type of vitality foundation that the “deep benthic environment” has to adapt to is organic substances that are abstracted from higher up in the water closer to the surface. This organic substance then progressively sinks down to the deep depths of the oceans. The lifeless and rotten organic substance endures the benthic food chain; even though most organisms in the “benthic zone” are scavengers or detritivores.
The main food sources for the benthos are algae and organic’s that result of runoff’s from land. The depth of water in combination with the temperature, salinity and the type of local substrate, all come into play when benthos is present. This can differ from coastal waters and other oceans where sun light can reach the bottom of that ocean. Benthic photosynthesizing diatoms can proliferate in the depths of oceans where light can reach. In oceans with sandy bottoms organisms and filter feeders, like sponges and bivalves, take over drastically. On the other hand deposit feeders, like polychaetes domain softer ocean bottoms. Deep ocean predators and scavenger
Infauna are benthos that survive buried in the sand, shells, or mud at the bottom of the ocean floor.
Epifauna benthos live on the surface of the sea floor and are always attached to rocks or they move along the bottom of the ocean floor.
Dermsals also live on the bottom of the ocean, but above the ocean floor not buried under, and also swim or crawl low to the sea floors.
o Microbenthos can be greater than100mm and includes bacteria & protests.
o Meiobenthos are between 100 and 500mm, they all include small metazoa and larger protists.
o Macrobenthos are greater than 500mm and include large metazoa and megabenthos.
o Megabenthos are the biggest ones, they can be found with large crustaceans, mollusks, etc.
Macrobenthos - Macrobenthos involves the larger, more noticeable, benthic organisms that are greater than 1 mm in size. Examples are organisms such as polychaete worms, bivalves, echinoderms, sea anemones, corals, sponges, sea squirts, turbellarians and larger crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and cumaceans.
Microbenthos- include microscopic benthic organisms that are less than 0.1 mm in size. Some examples are bacteria, diatoms, ciliates, amoeba, flagellates.
Benthos are in addition divided by what they eat:
They eat in three different types of way:
Video of Benthos:
Citations:
1.www.earBY:JOSE RAMOS